


One of Us

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Azazel is a sweetheart, Deaf Janos Quested, Erik is a Sweetheart, Fluff and Angst, Found family (literally), Human Experimentation, M/M, Mostly Fluff, Sign Language, Sign language while holding a baby is hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:47:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22607242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Azazel knows that he isn't a good man. But finding a child in a laboratory he was sent to destroy - well. He can't just leave him there.
Relationships: Azazel & Kurt Wagner, Azazel (X-Men)/Janos Quested, Janos Quested & Kurt Wagner
Comments: 19
Kudos: 121
Collections: X-Men Rare Pairs 2020





	One of Us

**Author's Note:**

  * For [lavenderlotion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/gifts).
  * In response to a prompt by [lavenderlotion](https://archiveofourown.org/users/lavenderlotion/pseuds/lavenderlotion) in the [xmenrarepairs20](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/xmenrarepairs20) collection. 



> **Prompt:**
> 
> Azazel and Janos have been together for years, but they sure as hell never planned on raising a kid. But when they find a small blue-skinned, forked-tail mutant who can teleport, they can't just leave him to die.

Azazel knew that he wasn't a good man. He had no illusions that he was kind, or caring, or any of that bullshit humans thought mattered. Because he was nothing more than what the humans had made him. He had known nothing but scorn and disgust, for most of his life, and it had made him cruel.

He enjoyed taking life. Proving he was the monster that they all thought he was, leaving blood in his wake. And he had enjoyed fighting alongside Shaw, for a future that their kind would enjoy, even if it had come with a cost, even if it had been dangerous for the man he loved. He hated Shaw, by the end. But he stood with him, because he knew it was the one place that he would be accepted. 

And then, there was Erik. Someone who had once been like Janos, little more than an adorable, wide-eyed labrat. And yet, who had been strong. Stronger even than Azazel, strong enough to kill the man they all despised. And they moved on. They followed Erik, because he had shown he was powerful. They fought for him, because he dreamed of a better future for their kind. And they didn't question orders. 

Until he'd been told to clear out this lab and leave no one alive. And he'd enjoyed it, the thrill of destruction, destroying equipment and scientists with his whirlwind at his side. They'd been about to go, when in the debris he'd heard a noise.

A cry. Weak, plaintive. The mewl of a starving kitten. He could have walked away, and never thought of it, and left whatever was there to its fate. Only he couldn't bring himself to do that.

Because that noise had caught at his heart, stung in a way he could never explain. He didn't have a conscience. But if he had one, he thought it might have made a sound like that plaintive little cry.

He turned, and looked through the debris until he found a box that he'd missed before.  
It was an incubator.

Inside, curled up under a flimsy scrap of blanket, was a baby. Its skin was a vivid blue, and there were scars where the scientists had hurt it. It was laying on its back, and its eyes were screwed shut in pain as it cried out.

Without thought, he reached out, and pulled the baby from the box. It - He - blinked open brilliantly yellow eyes, and fell silent at the movement, apparently confused by the warmth of skin against him. A tail reached up and wrapped around his arm, clinging tightly, the way he'd hold onto Janos when it was just the two of them.

Azazel shushed the baby softly, thinking fast. Erik would be here soon, and his orders had been clear. He didn't want to get Janos into trouble - but Janos wouldn't notice a crying baby he couldn't see. The blame would be his alone. Shaw had killed mutants who went against his wishes. The three of them, Emma, Janos and himself, had been the only ones to endure. He didn't know how Erik would respond, although his ability would give him the chance to inflict a lot of pain if he wished it. It would be best if Azazel took the blame on himself.

"Quiet, little one," Azazel murmured, noticing the boy's strange hands and feet. A mutant. He couldn't kill a mutant infant, not one that was gazing up at him with such trust, such devotion. He pressed a kiss to the boy's forehead, then carefully slipped him inside his coat, into an inner pocket. The boy was small enough to fit, with only his head and the tip of his tail poking out. Seeming happier in a pocket than he had been in his incubator, he started to suck on the tip of his tail for comfort - which at least ensured he was silent.

He was hidden just in time, as Erik swept into the room.  
"Cleared?"

Azazel nodded, his heart racing, aware of the weight of his lie in his pocket. Emma might help - not with the infant, she hated children. But she'd always concealed his and Janos's relationship from Shaw. That gave him hope.

He teleported Erik and Janos back to their base. Erik was eager for a report, but he made up some bullshit about having a headache, and slipped away to his room, taking the boy from his pocket and placing him down on the bed he and Janos were permitted to share. 

The boy stared up at him, blinking those strange feline eyes, and Azazel knew he would do anything he could to protect the little boy. He could have stared at him for hours, watching the way he smiled to himself. And anyway, the boy was a mutant. It served their cause to have him there. 

Azazel thought of all the taunts he had endured as a child, and realised this boy would have the same. But the difference was, he was going to be there for him, going to protect him and make sure anyone who would hurt his boy learned that doing so was a mistake.

Janos walked in, stared at the bed, stared at Azazel, and stared back at the bed. He pointed down, and then rocked his arms as though he was already holding a child.  
"That's a baby."

"I know," Azazel signed back. "Was in labs. Couldn't leave."

"Obviously," Janos answered, reaching out. The tiny boy reached out for his hands, giggling and gurgling to himself. Janos patted his hair, and then turned to Azazel.  
"He'll struggle to sign with those hands."

"He'll learn," Azazel answered, watching as Janos picked up the little boy, cradling him close. Azazel had never had any kind of paternal instinct, but he wanted to hold them both close.

Janos paused, sitting on the bed and placing the boy down on his knees so he could sign up at him.  
"Does Erik know?"

"No." Azazel sighed. "Orders were to kill all. Couldn't."

Janos nodded, the boy again in his arms, but he managed to lean back so the boy was on his shoulder, freeing his hands to quickly answer.  
"He's one of us."

Azazel nodded, cringing when the boy made a soft noise, afraid at any moment Erik would come storming in and rip the child from Janos's arms. He moved closer, making sure he had a hand on the other man, ready to teleport him away. 

The tiny blue boy seemed to sense the sudden tension, starting to cry. Janos tried to bounce him, cuddling him close, looking down at the boy and trying to reassure him.

The door to their room opened, and Janos took a step back, as Azazel stayed close, looking up at Erik.

"It sound- you've got a baby," Erik said, staring, and then took another step closer. He appeared more confused than angry, but Azazel didn't trust it. Azazel tightened his hand on Janos's shoulder.

"He a mutant."

"I can see that." Erik frowned, reaching out towards the baby. Janos looked frightened, but let him touch it - unlike Shaw, Erik was more dangerous out of touching range. Erik smiled, and let the baby suckle on the tip of his finger, before flinching slightly and moving his hand away, patting the baby's hair instead, and tracing the vivisection scars with his fingertip. "Your kid has sharp teeth."

"My kid?"

"Well, assuming you don't want to take him to an orphanage." Erik spoke, looking at Azazel to translate his words for Janos. He was learning a few key words, but nothing about babies had seemed relevant.

"You... I disobeyed your orders. You said we were to kill anyone alive."

"I meant the human scientists, Azazel. I thought that their experiments weren't yet this advanced. But no... no, I never would have wanted a mutant harmed. The smallest member of the brotherhood..." There was a smile on Erik's lips that looked almost fond, and he cleared his throat. "We'll have to get a cot. And formula, and bottles, and some clothes for him. Not to mention, he's going to need a name. If he's staying."

Azazel looked at his lover, and their tiny son.  
"He staying."


End file.
